Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Builder to Finish Work on Abandoned Homes : Housing: Original developer halted construction at Lancaster tract in 1988. Neighbors welcome the news.

Like the mythical phoenix that rose from its own ashes, a partially abandoned housing tract in Lancaster is getting a second chance at life.

A Costa Mesa-based developer, Pacific-Teal Development Inc., plans to immediately begin repairing the 21 dilapidated homes at the Silverado housing development, more than five years after the original developer halted work. Homes will also be built on two Silverado lots where, since 1988, there has been only cement foundations and tumbleweeds.

The pending completion of the 188-home tract comes as welcome news to homeowners who, for years, have looked out their windows to watch the abandoned homes fall prey to vandals and become temporary shelters for vagrants.

“I’m just glad they’re finally going to finish it,” said Vince Pagano, who lives with his wife and son just three doors from the cul-de-sac on which most of the unfinished homes sit.

Juan Rios has not been able to walk out his front door without being reminded of the condition of his neighborhood. Directly across the street from Rios’ home are a group of the abandoned Silverado homes.

“All the trash, all the noise of people who go over there,” Rios said. “It’s hurt property values.”

U.S. Housing Corp. of Burbank halted work on Silverado, a development at 30th Street West and Avenue L, in late 1988 after all but 23 of the remaining lots were sold. At the same time, the now-defunct company stopped development of the 40-acre Legends housing tract, located a couple miles away at 30th Street West and Avenue J.

In 1989, federal officials seized Pennsylvania-based Hill Financial Savings, U.S. Housing Corp.’s lender on the two tracts. Lancaster in 1991 began negotiating with the Resolution Trust Corp., the federal agency responsible for liquidating the assets of failed savings and loans, to purchase Silverado and Legends.

“For the most part it’s been very frustrating,” said Lancaster redevelopment manager Steve Dukett. “I’m disgusted my own personal tax dollars are used to fund an organization like the RTC.”

Lancaster finally took title in November to the 100-lot Legends and the 23 unfinished lots in Silverado. The long delay in the city’s purchase of the tracts resulted in a $1.5-million savings as real estate prices plummeted during the wait. Lancaster bought Legends and the unfinished portion of Silverado for $3.1 million.

Pacific-Teal is buying the 23 lots in Silverado from Lancaster for $900,000, the amount the city paid the RTC. The Orange County company also has to give Lancaster half of all its revenues from the sale of the 23 lots that exceed $2,909,500.

The city recently demolished the weathered home frames at Legends, said Dukett, and will begin in the spring searching for a developer to construct a new tract on the site.

Meanwhile, Pacific-Teal principal Neal D. Graham said his company plans to begin immediately finishing work on the abandoned homes, using local contractors as much as possible. The goal is to have the houses occupied by March.

Silverado is the second Lancaster development where Pacific-Teal has come in and picked up the pieces. About two years ago, the company bought an abandoned townhome project from a lender. It completed the construction and is having great success, Graham said.

Graham is confident the same will happen at Silverado, where homes with 1,700 to 2,100 square feet will sell for an estimated $119,000 to $132,000.

As a requirement imposed by the city, at least five of the homes in the tract must be sold to buyers who have moderate/median income levels, such as a family of four with an annual income of $57,960. Furthermore, the city is requiring Pacific-Teal to provide buyers with a 10-year warranty on the homes.

Councilman George Runner said: “I’m excited to see this coming to some final chapters, not only with Silverado but Legends.”